There are a huge array of kratom extracts out there, but in my opinion, not many actually match up to good quality whole leaf. There are some great extracts out there, of course, but it's not a guarantee that by attempting to concentrate kratom you will end up with something that accurately reflects the effects of the whole leaf.
So first off - how are botanical extracts made? They are typically made with some type of solvent. The most basic solvent is water, and indeed there are some kratom extracts that are made only with water as the solvent. Another basic solvent is ethanol - alcohol. By soaking kratom leaf in alcohol, you can make a basic version of what is called a tincture. Alkaloids and other components from kratom are freed into the alcohol. The leaf is then strained off, and the liquid contains actives from the leaf. One of the issues that comes up is that different solvents tend to pull out different components. For instance, the chemical makeup of a water extract is different than an ethanol extract. With this in mind, some producers make extracts with more than one solvent in order to wring more out of the leaves.
The idea of a "Full spectrum extract" is something that has been around in the herbal and botanical world for a while. If you use lab equipment (like an HPLC, for instance) to analyze a botanical, you will see a specific pattern that illustrates the chemical makeup of the plant. The idea of a full spectrum extract is to make an extract that has the same pattern as the whole plant, while at the same time being more concentrated. Usually this is done by combining different extraction techniques, although for some plants a full spectrum extract can be achieved with a single solvent (if the majority of the plants constituents are soluble in that solvent). Unfortunately, in the kratom world, the term "Full spectrum" is often misused, and applied to products that don't actually present a balanced spectrum of the plants natural constituents.
Another thing that comes up sometimes is the idea of ratios. 10:1 and 10x are two ways of saying the same thing, for every 10 units of a starting material, you end up with one unit of the extract. So if it took 10 kilos of leaf to produce 1 kilo of extract, you could say it was 10x or 10:1. Due to the lack of full spectrum extractions, the terms 5x,10x 50x etc, don't really tell you how strong an extract is going to be. It's common to take a gram or two of a 25x product, with good effect, whereas 25 grams of plain leaf for most people would be waaay too much. Technically, they are supposed to be the same, but it isn't quite that simple.
There are a number of different forms that kratom extracts can come in, including liquid tincture, solid extract, powders, and enhanced leaf. I have noticed that some people respond less to tinctures than others, and my suspicion is that individual differences in metabolizing the alcohol cause differences in the absorption of the kratom alkaloids. The short of it is that you may or not be a "tincture person". If you try a high quality, reliable kratom liquid tincture and it doesn't do much for you, you may want to try some type of dry extract.
While there are many good quality kratom extracts out there, there are also reports of purported kratom extracts that actually contain something else, often some kind of synthetic chemical. Several years ago, there were a number of deaths in Sweden connected to a product called "Krypton" which was kratom that had been spiked with the synthetic opioid O-Desmethyltramadol. That is an extreme case, and a deplorable practice when there is plenty of good quality, genuine and safe kratom. The marketing of kratom as a legal high or drug substitute is another matter, and I don't want to get too sidetracked, but let's just say it's not something I approve of at all.
There are also some products out there that seem to be spiked with something semi-synthetic that is derived from or similar to kratom alkaloids. There are reports that some popular "Full Spectrum" extracts out there contain synthetically derived analogs to kratom alkaloids that have a stronger effect than the naturally occurring ones. It seems to be true, since the effects of those products are noticeably unique compared to any natural kratom. I haven't done any lab tests on these products myself, but have heard from others who have that there are some unusual lines on the graph that don't correspond to natural leaf. Also, there are reports of people getting out of hand with tolerance and withdrawal with these products. While there can be some mild physical withdrawal symptoms with natural kratom, there are reports of people having more serious problems with these products, more akin to a stronger opioid.
Many people find that the best way to use an extract is to combine a little bit with some plain leaf. There seems to be an additive synergy with the combination. While some people prefer the ease of use of a liquid extract and would prefer to do away with the powdered leaf, they may find that the straight extract doesn't seem to work as well as the combination of the two.
One of the things I really appreciate about Mu Synergetics is that they only carry natural kratom extracts, never any question of synthetics or added junk. They definitely have some great extracts, and probably the most interesting one is the custom enhancements. It let's me create my own perfect enhanced leaf. BTW, they sometimes can create custom alkaloid blends for you that go beyond what is on the site. They were able to enhance some white vein for me with a more energizing alk blend, and then a red vein with a different, more mellow extract. You might want to Contact them if you are interested in extra custom enhancements.
So first off - how are botanical extracts made? They are typically made with some type of solvent. The most basic solvent is water, and indeed there are some kratom extracts that are made only with water as the solvent. Another basic solvent is ethanol - alcohol. By soaking kratom leaf in alcohol, you can make a basic version of what is called a tincture. Alkaloids and other components from kratom are freed into the alcohol. The leaf is then strained off, and the liquid contains actives from the leaf. One of the issues that comes up is that different solvents tend to pull out different components. For instance, the chemical makeup of a water extract is different than an ethanol extract. With this in mind, some producers make extracts with more than one solvent in order to wring more out of the leaves.
The idea of a "Full spectrum extract" is something that has been around in the herbal and botanical world for a while. If you use lab equipment (like an HPLC, for instance) to analyze a botanical, you will see a specific pattern that illustrates the chemical makeup of the plant. The idea of a full spectrum extract is to make an extract that has the same pattern as the whole plant, while at the same time being more concentrated. Usually this is done by combining different extraction techniques, although for some plants a full spectrum extract can be achieved with a single solvent (if the majority of the plants constituents are soluble in that solvent). Unfortunately, in the kratom world, the term "Full spectrum" is often misused, and applied to products that don't actually present a balanced spectrum of the plants natural constituents.
Another thing that comes up sometimes is the idea of ratios. 10:1 and 10x are two ways of saying the same thing, for every 10 units of a starting material, you end up with one unit of the extract. So if it took 10 kilos of leaf to produce 1 kilo of extract, you could say it was 10x or 10:1. Due to the lack of full spectrum extractions, the terms 5x,10x 50x etc, don't really tell you how strong an extract is going to be. It's common to take a gram or two of a 25x product, with good effect, whereas 25 grams of plain leaf for most people would be waaay too much. Technically, they are supposed to be the same, but it isn't quite that simple.
There are a number of different forms that kratom extracts can come in, including liquid tincture, solid extract, powders, and enhanced leaf. I have noticed that some people respond less to tinctures than others, and my suspicion is that individual differences in metabolizing the alcohol cause differences in the absorption of the kratom alkaloids. The short of it is that you may or not be a "tincture person". If you try a high quality, reliable kratom liquid tincture and it doesn't do much for you, you may want to try some type of dry extract.
While there are many good quality kratom extracts out there, there are also reports of purported kratom extracts that actually contain something else, often some kind of synthetic chemical. Several years ago, there were a number of deaths in Sweden connected to a product called "Krypton" which was kratom that had been spiked with the synthetic opioid O-Desmethyltramadol. That is an extreme case, and a deplorable practice when there is plenty of good quality, genuine and safe kratom. The marketing of kratom as a legal high or drug substitute is another matter, and I don't want to get too sidetracked, but let's just say it's not something I approve of at all.
There are also some products out there that seem to be spiked with something semi-synthetic that is derived from or similar to kratom alkaloids. There are reports that some popular "Full Spectrum" extracts out there contain synthetically derived analogs to kratom alkaloids that have a stronger effect than the naturally occurring ones. It seems to be true, since the effects of those products are noticeably unique compared to any natural kratom. I haven't done any lab tests on these products myself, but have heard from others who have that there are some unusual lines on the graph that don't correspond to natural leaf. Also, there are reports of people getting out of hand with tolerance and withdrawal with these products. While there can be some mild physical withdrawal symptoms with natural kratom, there are reports of people having more serious problems with these products, more akin to a stronger opioid.
Many people find that the best way to use an extract is to combine a little bit with some plain leaf. There seems to be an additive synergy with the combination. While some people prefer the ease of use of a liquid extract and would prefer to do away with the powdered leaf, they may find that the straight extract doesn't seem to work as well as the combination of the two.
One of the things I really appreciate about Mu Synergetics is that they only carry natural kratom extracts, never any question of synthetics or added junk. They definitely have some great extracts, and probably the most interesting one is the custom enhancements. It let's me create my own perfect enhanced leaf. BTW, they sometimes can create custom alkaloid blends for you that go beyond what is on the site. They were able to enhance some white vein for me with a more energizing alk blend, and then a red vein with a different, more mellow extract. You might want to Contact them if you are interested in extra custom enhancements.
No comments:
Post a Comment